Traditions in the West. On the left we have a strand that runs from Rousseau through Robesspire and Saint-Juste and through Marxist-Leninism to Stalin, who had of course stopped any pretense at being for “the people” or the helping the hand of history and exemplified nothing more than the will to power. It ends with the Gulag. On the right we have a tradition that marries attachment to authoritarianism (the pre-reformation church; monarchy) with the Romantic response to the enlightenment, which gave rise to the identitarian politics of the right, including nationalism, nativism and ultimately fascism. Again, it ends with the naked will to power. It ends with Auschwitz. Then there is the liberal tradition, with a small “l”. Conservatives, social democrats, many western socialists and of course liberals with a big “L” belong to this tradition, which draws a belief in reason from the enlightenment and a belief in the uniqueness of individuals from Romanticism. This is the tradition that gives us the US Revolution, rather than the French version. It’s the tradition that gives us respect for reason, human rights, separation of powers, market economics, the welfare state (broadly defined) and universal franchise. It’s the tradition that gives us much of South Africa’s constitution, too. That third tradition is the one that has delivered freedom and prosperity to the West, and for those non-western countries (South Korea, Japan, etc) that have embraced the universal values on which it is founded. And it is the tradition that needs defending now, from both anti-democratic, authoritarian left and ethno-nationalist, authoritarian right. It needs defending in the West, but also right here in South Africa. This tradition is of course not without its own faults as the history of colonialism shows. Or as the person of Thomas Jefferson reveals. But as Barack Obama put it, it is in this tradition that the arc of history bends towards justice. The other two traditions, not so much. So when people say they are defending “western civilization” it helps to be clear about which tradition they mean. One of those traditions needs urgent support. The other two need to be defeated, again. And in South Africa you don’t do that by pitting your ethno-nationalism against someone else’s, or your nativism against someone else’s. You do it by holding the centre: individual rights, separation of powers, democracy, a market economy, a welfare safety net, due process, a dollop of respect for humanity. Basic human decency. That’s how you stand up for civilization.

Zimbabwe leading the way. Never thought I'd say those words. Well done. Rural kids getting online is the fundamental reason that South Africa should open the doors to @Starlink the ANC hegemony is limiting our children's futures every day that they delay this.

This is my work place for the week. What makes these meetings particularly interesting is the convergence of geopolitical conflict, sovereign debt, artificial intelligence, development financing and the growing demands of emerging economies. The US/Israel war on Iran has created a major energy shock, increasing pressure on inflation, public finances and economic growth. One of the key questions emerging from the deliberations is: How effectively can international financial institutions stabilise economies when some of the most damaging shocks originate in geopolitical decisions by powerful states? I love reading policy and data, sitting in strategy meetings and then extracting the key themes around which to curate dialogue and advise on how to translate policy into action! A policy is just a statement if intent. How do you make it work, when, and with whom? That's my work.

« Elle n’avait que 12 ans » : le dérèglement climatique, nouvel accélérateur des mariages d’enfants l.leparisien.fr/A5J3

South Africa’s strategic oil reserves have fallen from 158.5 million barrels in the 1970s, to just 6.9 million barrels in 2026. That's a 96% collapse. newsday.co.za/business/28619…

Since USAID was dismantled, the left has not won a single election in Latin America, by the way.

South Africa has reached a point where it can no longer continue overexplaining itself to the United States, says the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation. brnw.ch/21x6aIp

That’s been the game from the start. They do not subscribe to the 1994 settlement, and are using a weakened state and government to attain that which they could not in the 1990s. They want to see the breaking up of the unitary state. And have found a sponsor in the US.

Can someone name one system in South Africa that works exactly as it should?

Thanks for the engagement. Thank you for agreeing with me on the most obvious point: "Serious crime is out of control in South Africa." In addition, there is no white genocide in South Africa.

Suid-Afrika se gewelddadige misdaadkrisis moet verstaan word binne die konteks van die land se voortslepende ongelykhede en verdeelde geskiedenis, eerder as deur gerassialiseerde narratiewe van wit slagofferskap. Suid-Afrikaners moet verdelende buitelandse inmenging verwerp en saamwerk aan misdaad, korrupsie, ongelykheid en nasiebou. diegewete.co.za/article.php?…

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